Eastwell Manor, Champneys Hotel & Spa in Ashford

A wonderful location, in the countryside with breathtaking views. A beautiful venue, very historical with a fabulous spa. Great for a wedding, corporate party, and for organising an event like a gallery art viewing.

My daughters coat was Stolen, when reported, was told oh well it may turn up. Very poor attitude which spoiled a very pleasant weekend which was for my daughters 40 th birthday.

Eastwell Manor is a picture-postcard Elizabethan country house replete with tall chimneys, mullioned windows and creeper-clad stone walls, not to mention the extensive gardens filled with topiary and roses. It gets 5 stars for that. It was surprising to learn therefore that it dates from the 1920s, albeit re-built using salvaged materials after a devastating fire. The interiors give it away. They look just a little bit too new. The dining room where afternoon tea is served is perfect for recreating that quintessentially English country house tradition. A panelled room with a big fireplace and windows overlooking the garden, busy with uniformed servers delivering tiered stands of little sandwiches, scones and cakes. What a pity the food could only manage 3 stars. It all looked and tasted as though it was fresh from Waitrose. Only horrible sliced white bread for the sandwiches, with the crust cut off, and fillings so cold they had been in the fridge too long. There was too much emphasis on sweet cakes that gave a sugar rush if you had more than two or three. The scones were good though and, if not home-baked, had been warmed in the oven. Full marks then for the setting and ambience. Could do better on the catering.

Champneys is deeply misleading in its T&Cs regarding gift vouchers—don’t bother purchasing their offer! It’s much better to give your recipient cash so they can make the most of any deal they like. More below. I’ve disputed the T&Cs with a supervisor who made extremely personal and offensive remarks, failing to address the misleading nature of the T&Cs, which claim that gift cards should be treated as cash. In reality, the directors arbitrarily decide which spa deals the gift card can be used on. The T&Cs state the only exclusion is products, but this isn’t true. Certain offers, like Black Friday stays, are excluded. I’m trying to escalate the issue beyond supervisor level, but there’s no transparency on the website, and it’s difficult to reach anyone. Every call involves at least a 30-minute wait. It’s been deeply embarrassing for me after giving this gift card to my best friend for a special occasion. She’s ended up paying more for a lesser experience. I plan to take this grievance to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), and I’ll also try to find contacts for the Board of Directors. They need to stop misleading customers! How hard is it to be transparent and give people a choice? This is on top of the poor standards I’ve experienced at times (at Eastwell Manor and Tring), which have already been thoroughly documented on TrustPilot.

The spa treatment with Tbobeka was very nice and she answered all questions ask relating to my treatment and aftercare. She explained every step of the treatment. The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful. I will recommend and will definitely visit again.

Went here for lunch food was excellent atmosphere was excellent however it could have been cleaner and the service was really slow 😔 did not feel very personal did not match the place

A wonderful, divinely wonderful stay, a real immersion in history and even entertainment with fireworks and swimming are wonderful

Very comfortable, staff were brilliant and informative. Outside of hotel and pool area in Champneys bit tired looking but in saying this would certainly return.

Lots of improvements made since 2023. Service was not great but we still had a good time.

Lovely Rose Champagne afternoon tea in a lovely setting service very nice, experience slightly let down by 2nd glass of Champagne being room temperature & not chilled, note an Anti Cash Policy operates here, although as only form of payment I had they deigned to accept cash, the wrangling somewhat detracted from the afternoon.

The Manor House was stunning and grounds were beautifully maintained, it was very picturesque, however, internally in parts the it was looking tired and it could with some TLC. The main restaurant walls needs a fresh coat of paint, looked damp or dirty. The spa was ok, not as big I hoped it would be, sauna was very small felt crowded as soon as 4 people were inside. The spa was not as clean as one would expect given it is meant to be a luxury spa. swimming pool floor was filthy, curtains around the loungers had stains all over, gross! The lady at the reception was not friendly and did not provide us with all the info we need, like where breakfast or lunch was being served and that robes were not being provided in the spa for those staying the night, this had to be taken from the room, we spent a lot of time back and forth, this could have been avoided if informed on arrival.

The Spa was amazing, the pool and thermal facilities totally relaxing. However the room was not ready when we arrived and we were treated quite haughtily and told to wait to one side until it was. We arrived well after the room was supposed to be ready. This was the general treatment from the hotel reception for the entire weekend, we were a nuisance and our issues a bother. it was never clear which building we should be in, different people told us differing things about breakfast locations and options. this continued even for check out, we waited 30 minutes to check out in a very long queue when we could have been using the pool/ So in short the Spa is great, the hotel component have a long way to go to meet the Spa's standards.

I did have a nice stay, but there were a few things that made me unsure whether we would return. I booked the trip for my girlfriend's birthday and wanted something really special for her. I tried ringing 6 times on 3 separate occasions to arrange something for her birthday in the room and to book dinner in the restaurant. I was more than happy to pay the extra cost but no one replied. I had to book dinner elsewhere as it was a special day, and I didn't want to be left without a booking. The lady at the check-in and the two gentlemen at the bar during the day were lovely and very welcoming, but the rest of the staff just seemed uninterested and made us feel unwelcome. That wasn't the vibe I was looking for on her birthday. Also, I lost my gold chain by the swimming pool and the staff weren't very helpful. They said they would mention it in the 'hand over', but as a guest, it's not really clear what that means or reassuring that they were going to try to find or return it, it’s not been two weeks and haven’t heard anything back so I doubt I will. I definitely wouldn't recommend taking valuables if you are staying here.

Well, where does one start… to keep it simple, for the money paid I would rather have lodged at a Holiday Inn. The most disappointing stay… I’ve stayed here before on many occasions in the distant past (+10 yrs ago) and each stay was more outstanding than the last, everything you would expect and more from this style of venue and a service that was beyond reproach. This recent stay, as a final farewell to the UK before I retire into Asia, was almost sickening to see how far this place has fallen. The rooms are of course the same, and retain their ancient charm, but it’s clear that the service staff are not respectful as custodians of this magnificent property. I watched several times the way the staff were slamming and banging their equipment in their attempt at cleaning, resulting in damage to floorboard, carpets etc… The dusting duty was merely a wave of the cloth over any item that happened to be in reach. The breakfast / restaurant staff should, I though have at least a reasonable command of the English language, yes pleasant on greetings but actual service was poor, unorganized and incomplete. The coffee was clearly some effort dragged from the local sewer, both the free and extra paid. The breakfast was uninteresting and would barely feed the pigeon staring at me in sorrow from the window. Full English ? An eighth English would be a better description. “Would you please turn down my room, while I’m out ?” “Oh I’m not sure we offer that service Sir, but I will ask the maid” …which turned out to be a refolding of a used towel, and a rearrangement of pillows The bar, was of course quaint with board games and the ambiance of the property, but the staff was slow, and the extent of the knowledge of drinks didn’t extend much pass a Red Bull with ice. I remember a time when the bartender would offer alternatives as a taster to my regular Negroni or Old Fashioned, and the history that lay behind it. Now, all I get is to be informed how stressed the bartender is with a mere 8 guests to contend with. Who then disappeared, into parts unknown and that I would have to wait until his return before I could sign my receipt and retire to my room. Porter service has completely dropped off the roster, for accommodations charging as much as they do, I’d expect that as a bear minimum. Reception seemed to be deliberately designed to be manned by only one person that was more interested in playing Tetris on the computer and a telephone that must have been programmed to ring constantly, than actually checking patrons. The checkout process whilst relatively painless, presented me with a bill that must have come from a school of tax returns and accounting, numbers everywhere which made no sense to the… “well, I have the final figure here on the system” - edit : always nice to find out you've been doubled charged as well !! Now, this place is beautiful - but whomever is operating / managing the property, needs to seriously take stock and review the processes going on there. It’s clear that there is a “less is more” policy in place and they need to cram as many customers as they can to cover overheads, although it most definitely is not being spent on staff or service performance. My recommendation to stay well away from this place as a hotel, and reserve your money for a local inn or pub, you’ll get superior service and quality from a local pub landlord than this jumped up shambles.

So disappointed with roast Sunday dinner at the brasserie. NOT the standard of food I have had at Eastwell Manor in the past and this has put me off ever going there again. Beef was chewy, broccoli was going yellow and well past its sell by date, not enough gravy and the roast potatoes tasted and looked like 'Aunt Bessie's' from the freezer, everyones meals were luke warm and we all had the same dish so no excuse for serving food that was going cold and not up to standard. All in all a huge let down! I've had much better pub meals at half the price but this was meant to be a special occasion for a special birthday for one of my parents. AVOID! I should add I'm NOT knocking the staff who were very polite and did discount the bill which was appreciated. However, some things aren't just about the money and this was a special meal spoiled by serving very average tepid food. :(

Stayed here in April for one night. Planned to arrive early, have lunch and use the spa before the evening. Service at lunch took some time. Had to ask for service repeatedly, despite being one of two customers in the restaurant. Menu was limited, but the food was good. After the long lunch experience, we headed to the spa only to find out that the hot tub/jacuzzi was closed, the heated swimming pool was freezing cold. Went to dinner in the restaurant. Took 15 minutes to get seated and experienced the same lacklustre service we had at lunch, having to ask for menus and drinks a couple of times. Once again, food was very good. Room was average, not really any mod cons, but a nice old building with nice gardens. Breakfast was poor, with the service once again being an issue. Took 45 minutes to get coffee. Had to get orange juice from he bar because staff didn’t want to open a new pouch (sic) so late in the breakfast service (10am). Food on the breakfast buffet wasn’t being replaced and we felt rushed. Food was average, not really impressive for the price. We had planned to stay around to use the spa and have lunch, but saw no reason to stay with no hot tub or heated pool. Overall, an extremely disappointing experience. Given some of the recent positive reviews, I’d like to see what they have changed, or if the staff are better writers than servers, but I’m not risking the money for something so disenchanting that it caused us to finish our holiday early. Book at your own risk. 1/10 would not recommend.

Absolutely lovely place and lovely location and surroundings. A lovely hotel with a lot of potential. Some staff members are lovely, most are dreadful - which is such a shame.

We had a lovely two night stay in the hotel and spa, the grounds are beautiful and restaurant is excellent! Cassie on reception and all staff were great. We will be back soon.

As a club member at Eastwell Manor you can forget ever getting through on the phone or by email. They respond quick enough for membership enquiries but once you are signed up you will never be able to get through to the spa or fitness desk!! Bloody frustrating

Had a great falconry experience day here, lovely lunch at the hotel bar.

We expected a lot more from our stay at Champneys. While several staff members were professional and helpful, some seemed irritated at us making simple, basic request (e.g. a request for a pot of coffee for our table was met with eye rolls and sighs). The food at breakfast was horrific on our first day. I ordered the eggs benedict and it's as if the eggs had been sitting out in the open for hours before served. The rooms were very sub-par given the cost per night. Our sink was broken, and the room was small. Having to lug our heavy bags across the ground then up narrow staircases also wasn't a great experience. When the staff came to clean our room, they left things half done (e.g. dirty glasses left behind, bins not properly emptied, etc.). Lastly, and this is the worst part, a member of our party came to find their room with the bathroom flooded. Instead of changing their room, the staff simply gave them towels to clean up the mess themselves!! In essence, it really felt like Champneys was relying purely on having a beautiful building and grounds to justify the cost of the stay.

Had a wonderful experience celebrating with having afternoon tea. The staff were very friendly, welcoming, and provided amazing service. A memorable belated birthday gift, I will cherish. The views were lovely, and it was the perfect day out.

We came hear with family for 1 night stay. That's all we could stand. We arrived late and told that we where in the cottages. We didn't have a car so my disabled and I where put in a golf buggy with no light's the driver went off the road and hit a large roadside rock. When we got to the room the heating was on full blast, it was like a sauna. The twin 2ft 6inch beds where pushed together so I had to pull beds apart. On the whole the whole experience was very poor. I would not recommend this hotel, go to a Premier Inn for a much better price and level of service. DO NOT STAY HEAR

Fabulous place to stay and unwind. Staff cannot do enough, so helpful and friendly

Fabulous stay at Eastwell manor. Can see a lot of positive changes have taken place since my last stay in November 2023 Staff at the manor house restaurant were very good. Our waitress Minay served all our needs. We dined here twice. Our first evening we had chateaubriand ( melt in the mouth) and our 2nd night the lamb chops that were to die for. Minay made sure we were topped up with drinks, checked in on us to make sure everything was ok with our food. Very attentive member of staff.

If you are looking for a beautiful place to stay. That’s only just over an hour drive from London with beautiful sceneries beautiful building. The spa facilities are excellent. So if you need peace and Tranquility, this is the place to come dog friendly, and we was upgraded to a garden room at no extra cost

I brought my wife to show her the beauty and impact of a stately old manor house turned hotel and instead got Fawlty Towers. What a let down.

Staff are friendly and very helpful. I had a meal planned for 12 people and Rebecca who was looking after us couldn’t do more to accommodate us and make the evening a huge success. Food was well presented, served and delicious. We spent 3 night there and the grounds are stunning. Too busy to use the spa and outdoor swimming pool but everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves.

Found this place by accident and omg what a stunning place was aloud to take my dog and wander around the grounds and told my partner that we are coming back to stay for a night or two 😉

Extremely beautiful grounds, lovely staff and peaceful surroundings to celebrate my birthday. Thanks for the cakes and deserts! We had a wonderful suite, the spa lunch was tasty. Our massages were nice, and all teams were very accommodating when timings shifted slightly. Special mention to Minay who hosted us for dinner and was incredibly knowledgable in guiding us for the appropriate dishes and cocktails as we celebrated a birthday. She was a great vibe!

The doors to rooms in acorn cottage (mews) extremely heavy to open The location and scenery absolutely stunning

Lovely house in a beautiful setting. Afternoon tea was served to us in the lounge. The sofas were low for some. Scones were the best we'd ever eaten! Service was great with tea topped up throughout our 2+hours visit, although straining the tea leaves took a bit of skill. Some of the cakes were boxed up for us to take home. Recommended as a treat if you have some spare cash!

It's probably the worst Spa iv been to. Don't waste your money. Hotel was nice but we had a suit which helps obviously but shower on the bath didn't work which wasn't helpful. Dinner was lovely and staff also very nice.

WOW I have booked for me and my girlfriend to stay at Eastwell Manor in April as a nice one night get away and I have truly been blown away by the customer service AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN STAYED YET ! Specifically I want to say a HUGE thank you to Shelby and Cassie. The ladies have made this booking experience truly special and have helped me book what is going to be a wonderful stay. Their customer service was excellent (Literally like no other I have experienced with other hotels) Thank you ladies, you are amazing and we look forward to seeing you in April when we come to stay !

Worst ‘weekend’ away ever. My partner & I travelled over an hour to stay here after hearing such good reviews and ending up checking out at 8pm. First of all the spa is in need of a complete refurb , there was holes in the ceilings , paint bubbling everywhere , severe water damage throughout & mould. Spa beds was fully booked on first come serve basis so no where to actually relax. Reception wouldn’t give us a robe either as we already had been allocated one to our room (in another building so had to leave the spa to collect !!!) There was also no availability at the on site restaurant and no room service as they were to busy. After coming back to our room after leaving the spa to shower and go off site to get dinner we realised we was not able to shower in our room due to the water pressure. Reception advised there was nothing they can do as they were fully booked and advised us to use the spa shower facilities in another building !!!!!! We ended up checking out as we couldn’t shower anywhere. For paying over £500 for one night stay including treatments the service / rooms and spa was shocking. Would never stay and never recommend anyone to stay !!!!!!!!

We stayed for two evenings at Eastwell Manor and had a great time. The rooms are simple but more than sufficient and finished to a high standard. The spa was enjoyable but fairly busy between the evening times we were able to enter. We sadly weren’t provided with robes and it was slightly confusing on how to use the spa (bring your own towels etc) but once we had worked this out, it was very easy to use. We had dinner both evenings and breakfast both mornings in the restaurant. The food here was fantastic and really made our stay very enjoyable. In particular Morgan’s service for dinner was brilliant. He stood out for us as providing fantastic service and was very engaging throughout. Overall, we had a great time and definitely will be looking to visit again in the future.

Very charming manor with lots of great amenities. Service was excellent at all levels as well

Gorgeous afternoon tea and service was fantastic. Minay was extremely attentive and made the whole experience more enjoyable.

We had the most gorgeous afternoon tea! Thank you Minay for the best service! ❤️